Untitled
by Wandering Cat
Summary: FE6, NoahFir, GeeseEchidna. Complete. Fir is confused, Echidna is less confident than she seems, and Noah and Geese have something to say about it. [[[old Untitled has been deleted]]]


**Untitled,** god I need a title**  
Wandering Cat  
**  
It's 4AM, Sunday, and I can't sleep. Go me. Curse you, Fullmetal Alchemist, for getting me all hyped up.

**PAY ATTENTION! This was supposed to be a two-parter, but then I realized that both were pretty short, so I combined them. If you already read the first half, feel free to skip it. **

So, um...here's the **entirety** of Untitled. Apparently, it has lived and is now going to die titless. Oh, yeah, and for some random reason, the link I put in the first chapter didn't come through. I noticed that it caused the rest of the story to be underlined, thus ruining any italicization (is that a word?). So if you do wnat the link, ask me.

Disclaimer: I don't own FE. If I did, FE6 would have been released in English.  
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There was a dull 'thunk' of something sharp hitting wood, followed by the startled chirping of birds and the rustle of small woodland creatures running away. A young woman, still several years to go before she reached her twentieth, shifted back into a standing position. She admired the deep gash on the side of an old, rotting log, grimly reasoning that if she could push through wood, she could certainly cleave flesh.

Not that Fir was proud of that fact. Far from it; if nobody was looking and she wasn't in any immediate danger, Fir would turn and retch, sickened by the sight of a slashed corpse, made even more nauseous by the fact that it was her own doing.

An iron stomach, she had not, but it wasn't necessary. She did what she had to to survive. _Besides_, she thought, _what would Noah think if I were that weak?...I wouldn't want him to think...'_Fir caught herself from thinking any farther. The thought of the social knight made her cheeks warm and brought back embarrassing memories.

_"Sir Noah!" _

_The handsome knight looked up from his sword polishing kit, offering a friendly smile to the energetic myrmidon. "Hello, Fir."_

_"Sir Noah, I have something to ask of you..." she said eagerly, trotting toward him. When he replied positively, she finished, "I want you to spar with me."_

_"Oh...For your training?" Noah asked, in a gently teasing voice, still smiling, and knowing that he was correct. The purplish-black-haired girl grinned back, nodding, and explained the advantage of learning many different styles. Noah already knew, of course, but he also knew that Fir was passionate about swordplay and would do anything to get stronger._

_"Well, if you say so. It's fine with me." Noah stood and strode over to his pack, pulling out his wooden practice sword, seeing that Fir had her own ready. She thanked him graciously. (Author's note: for some reason, every time Noah speaks, I get the voice of Haku from Spirited Away in my mind, only a little deeper. Not that it's a bad thing.) _

_She dipped down into her favorite fighting position, and Noah got into his. He fought better on a horse, but had also trained like a myrmidon and could fight on the ground if he had to._

_Fir charged, and Noah, admiring her energy, smiled and looked her in the eyes. A strange look crossed Fir's face, and she lost her balance. She was bolting toward him with amazing speed, and was unable to catch herself. Instead, she fell right into Noah, smacking her bare knee off of his knee guard, and his arms came around her out of reflex. "Whoa! Are you okay?" he questioned, concern in his voice._

_She was pinned against his chest, her cheek on his cool armor. "Y-Yes! I'm sorry! I'll get away now..." Fir blushed and pulled herself away, wincing as she put pressure on her injured knee._

_"It's not like you to trip like that. Are you hurt? Let me see your knee..."_

_"N-No, I'm...f-fine! We must get on with the duel!"_

_"Are you really okay? You don't seem quite...well."_

_She got back into position and demanded that they finish their sparring match._

Fir shook her head, trying to throw the memory out. It was possibly the most embarrassing event in her life that wasn't caused by her good-hearted father. What's worse, it had to happen with Noah. Fir sighed, sheathing her killing edge, and stalked away, all the while trying to push the purple-haired Social Knight from her thoughts._  
-------------------------_

"Hey, there, bird-boy!" It was still early morning. "Early bird gets the worm? It's deserted in here."

Geese turned around, cheeks bulging somewhat due to the food he crammed in. A tall, blue-haired Hero walked through the empty mess hall and sat opposite him. He mumbled a "Hey." and continued eating. After a moment, he glanced up to her.

He had to admit; when he first glimpsed her, Geese thought Echidna was a guy. It was a relief that he was mistaken, because the first thing to cross his mind was 'He's kinda handsome...', quite possibly the most alarming thought he'd ever had. Luckily for him, Echidna is, indeed, a girl, though she's tall and muscular, and she does have a boyish face. Not so much that anyone who looked at her for more than two seconds couldn't tell she was a girl, but to the point that he'd be equally inclined to call her 'handsome' again as much as 'beautiful'.

Geese looked slightly shocked at himself for thinking that, again, and choked on his mouthful of food. Echidna raised an eyebrow, making a disgusted face at the foul gagging sound he made.

"There's a magical practice called 'chewing' that you might find useful. I suggest you try it; I've found it quite rewarding over the years." she stated, smirking. Geese rolled his eyes, still trying to push the thought from his mind, and seemed to cough the food back into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "Told you. Awesome, isn't it?"

"You're in a good mood. What's up?"

"Nothing. Just thought I'd show up and say hello."

When he finished, they continued their normal conversation, regarding the village Echidna wanted to build and Geese's ship. Geese started to run a hand through his long violet hair, but stopped as he heard a soft chuckle from the other side of the table. "What?" he demanded.

"N-nothing!" Chuckles turned into full-scale laughter. "It's just...it's...not every day that-that I have breakfast with a guy p-hah-prettier than me!" Echidna continued cracking up, and after a few moments, she suddenly fell silent. "Not that it's much of a feat." she added.

Geese's anger and annoyance faded away, and even though she was smirking again, he could see a little hurt in her eyes. "What, you think you're ugly or somethin'?"

"Well..." Echidna hadn't expected that, and she nervously ruffled some of the hair that stuck out of her bandanna-like headwear. After a while, she replied, "I am."

Geese's eyes widened and he raised an eyebrow. Echidna crossed her arms. "Don't give that look, birdy, it's the truth."

"Who told you that? Who said you're ugly?"

"I dunno. Random soldier number twenty-seven or something. He said that women shouldn't be as muscular as I am. I don't care. I'm proud of these arms of mine. They're proof that I have the strength to help carve out the future, just like everyone else here." as if to punctuate her sentence, Echidna whipped her axe out from behind her and put her other hand over her forearm.

"...It bothers you, doesn't it?" Geese asked, his voice soft. Echidna shrunk back and mouthed something that looked a lot like 'yeah'.  
_------------------- Hey, look, part two!---------- _

_I can't believe I said that to him..._Fir thought_. "S-Sir Noah! This might sound rude, but...D-Don't talk to me any more!" _

She sighed and clapped a hand to her forehead. Two times. I made a total jerk out of myself two times in a row, and just three days apart, too. And he's always been so kind to me...

Fir sighed again and hefted her Killing Edge into a battle position. She held it outward, parallel to the ground and touched the cool tip with her fingers. It was, oddly enough, comforting to feel hard, reliable steel underneath her fingertips. Taking a deep breath, she continued whipping through her exercises. It was still the early morning, with the moon barely showing in the light sky.

_I wonder what Noah's doing now..._ she thought idly.

Fir recoiled as if someone smacked her, trying desperately to stop thinking about the social knight. While she was busy foolishly attempting to literally shake Noah from her thoughts, Fir failed to notice a crisp snap and a rustle in the brush behind her. Another did wake her, and her reflexes jumped to attention, and she whirled, ponytail twisting as she went.

Noah was standing about two feet behind her. He opened his mouth to say something and raised his arm to waist height in a simple gesture. Fir, however, gave him no chance to speak, and turned back around, preparing to dash off. Her Killing Edge had dropped while she was shaking her head and now lay forgotten in the moss.

A hand first caught her black-purple ponytail, and when she was forced to stop, it then moved with the other to her shoulders.

"Wait, Fir! Don't go." Noah's voice was softer (_AN: HAKU!)_ than usual, and held a pleading tone. "I need to talk to you." When he was sure she wouldn't run, Noah released Fir's shoulders. She stood still, and neither spoke for a while. When he reached out to touch her shoulder again, he stopped. They were trembling.

"I-I...I swore to myself that I would live by the sword...But..." Fir turned and seemed to glare at him. Her eyes shook as well, trying to hold back tears. "I find my mind wandering, and I'm always thinking about _you_!" Fir shouted to him. _Why can't I stop thinking about you...?  
_  
"Fir..." Noah sighed lamely.

"G-goodbye!" she spat, attempting to back off. Before she had a chance to get more than a few paces, Noah lunged forward and snatched her forearms, keeping a firm grip that betrayed his kind eyes. "Wha--"

Noah stared her right in the eyes, silently begging her to do the same. "Do you remember the first time we met?" She nodded and whispered a positive answer. Noah took a deep breath. "Ever since then, I've wanted to tell you something. But I couldn't muster up the guts to do so. Even after we said goodbye to each other, I've been regretting that I didn't tell you how I felt."

Fir unconsciously held her breath, and although she said nothing, she thought, _How he felt?_

"I honestly thought it was a miracle when we met again on that island. And...Although I've still been keeping it in until now, I won't hesitate anymore. I have to tell you."

"S-Sir Noah..." Fir sputtered. His voice was warm and honest, as were his eyes. She released the breath she'd been holding.

"Fir, I... I love you."

Both pairs of eyes shimmered, and without warning, Fir flung her arms around Noah's neck and cried happy tears into his collar.  
--------------------------

Echidna shifted uneasily, axe still in her left hand. Geese still looked rather surprised that Echidna, Miss I-Beat-Gonzales-At-Arm-Wrestling, had such low self-esteem.

"You know...someone else's opinion of you...is a real slippery foundation to build on." he said quietly.

Echidna's face took a softly confused expression. "That's your opinion." She yawned quietly, turning away quickly. Geese sighed.

"Yeah, well. You're a girl, after all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she responded idly. He failed to notice a steady tremor in her voice.

"Girls care more about what people have to say about them than guys."

"You would know."

"You wouldn't."

Echidna winced heavily and her shoulders stiffened. "I deserved that...Sorry..." With a screech, Echidna pushed her bench back and quickly strode toward the doors.

Other members of the party had awakened and now several were wandering into the mess hall. The dancer, Lalam, cheerfully greeted Echidna as she passed, but got only a fake smile and a wave in return. Lalam turned toward Geese, somehow knowing he was the cause of her friend's pain and glared at him before leaving to stalk Oujay.

_Aww, crap! I was trying to make her feel better, and now look what I did! I suck!_ Geese thought, fisting some of his hair. He rose, shoving the remainder of his breakfast away and knocking half of it over, sprinting after the offended Hero.

After several minutes of searching, Geese found her leaning against a tree close to her tent. Her eyes were downcast, hands busy grinding a whetstone over the edge of her faithful axe. "What?" she sighed. "Go away."

"Hey..." was all Geese could think of saying.

"Fascinating. Bye." Echidna said, once again beckoning for him to leave.

He stood still, shifting from one foot to another. The morning sun reflected off of her axe and onto her face, lighting sad eyes and masculine features.

"You know...there are lots of kinds of beauty. You've got the best kinds."

Her face snapped up, eyebrow raising, and if he didn't know better, Geese could have sworn she was blushing. "...What?"

Pleased with himself, Geese smirked and stepped forward. "Yeah. For one thing, you're a really noble person. People can trust ya. Why else would I tell you that I actually cried that one time, remember? That's a really cool kind 'o beautiful."

"Um..."

"And then, there are those other few billion guys, with a few billion girls. Normal, average, everyday, classic beauties. Screw them, they're just a dime a dozen. You're not, I repeat, _not_ ugly, Echidna. You're just another kind of pretty, but pretty all the same. In a cool way." Geese explained." When you get a boyfriend, he'll be proud to have a girl like you, and like the way you are. Duh."

Echidna wavered again, this time dropping her axe entirely. Geese, still proud of himself and his words, picked it up and offered it back. She took it, but then dropped it behind her, instead taking Geese's hand.

"Thanks, Geese...I've never been one to spew that "as long as you have a good heart" crap all over people...but that first thing you said made me feel better about it."

He smirked again. "And the second thing I said?"

It was then that he noticed how blurry her eyes had gotten. Tears were now flowing silently down Echidna's face. She stepped forward and embraced him, and Geese hugged back, despite the annoyance of her heavy armor. He was glad that he helped restore the fortress of confidence known as Echidna.

_Maybe I don't suck so much, after all. "_Does this make me the boyfriend that's proud to have a girl like you, and who likes the way you look?"

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WC: Blar...The sap...the sap...God stop me...

Oh, the "someone else's opinion is a slippery foundation to build on" thing came from IceBlade28. Whether or not it is his or someone else's, I don't know.  
Notes:  
-Squeamish Fir? I doubt it, but it sounded good to me.  
-I quoted Fir and Noah's C and A supports, and the B was mentioned when she remembered telling Noah not to talk to her anymore. Actually, Part 2 was just their A support, with actions put to words.  
-I never found any actual evidence that Echidna was embarrassed about her appearance, but it sounded like it'd make a good fic.

-"I've never been one to spew that "as long as you have a good heart" crap..." was taken from the Gonzales and Echidna supports.


End file.
